Smoke-stack protector.



B. 0. 'F'RENGH & T. "5.0mm.

SMOKE STAGK PROTECTOR. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 16, 1813.

Patented Mar. 17, 1914.

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ATTORNEYS LUIS-BM 'LANOOIA'N ,CO" WASHINGTON. D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFTSE.

ELMER C. FRENCH, 01? DALLAS, AND THOMAS E. CRAIG, OF MCKINNEY, TEXAS.

SMOKE-STACK PROTECTOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 16, 1913. Serial No. 774,006.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ELMER 0.. FRENCH and THOMAS E. CRAIG, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Dallas, in the county of Dallas and Stateof Texas, and at McKin ney, in the county of Collin, State of Texas,

' while the stack is in use, leaving the stack outlet entirelyunobstructed, while in the other position which it occupies whilethestack is idle, it completely covers the stack, keeping out rain, windand dirt and pre- Ventin'g rusting and deterioration of the stack. a j

A further object of the invention is to provide a smoke stack protectorcomprising two members pivoted to swing about an axis diametral of thestack, each-of said men bers being correlated with a wire extending tothe ground, said wires serving when taut to hold the two members in aposition covering the stack, and when slackened permitting the membersto swing outward due to their own weight assuming positions which willnot obstruct the. stack outlet.

Still another object of our invention is to provide a smoke stackprotector adjustable from the ground in two limiting positions in one ofwhich the stack is covered and in the other the stack is unobstructed,it being possible to bank the fire of the furnace with which the stackis correlated by adjusting the protector to its closed position,avoiding the detrimental effect of opening the furnace and smoke-boxdoors.

Finally the object of our invention is to provide a device of thecharacter described,

" that will be strong, durable, simple and efficient and comparativelyeasy to construct and also one that will not be likely to get out ofworking order.

WVith these and various other objects in view, our invention hasrelation to certain novel features of the construction and use, anexample of which is described in the following specification, andillustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a top view of our smoke stack protector, a portion of thesame being broken away to reveal the interior construction. Fig. 2 is aview of the same in side elevation. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view,the section being taken upon the line X-X of Fig. 2. I

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, wherein like referencecharacters designate similar parts in all the figures, the numeral 1denotes the upperportion of a smoke stack, which has mounted upon .itsupper edge a metal ring 2 to reinforce said edge. A short distance belowthe ring 2, an annular draw band 3 is mounted upon the stack, theadjacent ends of said ring being turned outward as indicated at t anddrawn together by a bolt 4 to clamp said ring rigidly upon the stack. Atdiametrally opposite points of the ring 3, a pair of bracket members 5are rigidly mounted upon said ring, the upper extremities of saidmembers being hooked over the adjacent edge of the stack as indicated at6. The bottom portions of the bracket members 5 are made to extenddownwardly some distance beyond the ring 3 and serve to furnish pivotalsupports for the down-turned extremities of two bars 7 and 7 which barsare adapted to swing to or from each other about the pivots 8, in onelimiting position being parallel and extending over the stack, and inthe other limiting position being divergent and disposed at oppositesides of the stack. That portion of each member 7 Patented. Mar.17,1914.

and '7 which is adapted to occupy a posi-v I tion above the stack formsan obtuse angle and to each of said portions there is secured one-halfof a' conical protector 10, the adjacent edges of the protector membersbeing overlapped when the protector is in its closed position abovethestack. The member 10 carried by the bar 7* laps beneath the other member10 in the closed position of the stack protector and is provided at itsdiametral edge with a. channel 1O which when the protector is closedlies between the bars 7 and 7 and serves to catch any water which duringa heavy rain may possibly enter between the overlapped portions of thetwo members 10. Each of the bars? and '7 is provided at one extremitywith an arm 9 projecting beneath the correlated pivotpoint 8 andinclined slightly from the member 10 carried by the bar with which saidarm is integral. The .arms 9 are disposedat opposite sides of the stack,and from the extremity of each arm there depends a wire 11, the lowerextremity of which may be secured in any common and 7 carrying the twomembers 10 are being shifted from their open to their closed positions,they are stopped on reaching their closed positions by a pair of.diametrally opposite pins l1 carried by small metal blocks 12 which arerigidly secured to the upper end portions of the bracket members 5. Whenthe bars 7 and 7 reach the position which they occupy when the protector1st) covers the stack, the downwardly turned end portions of said armscont-act with the pins 11 and prevent further movement of said bar-s7and 7 toward each other.

In Fig 2 the position which the stack protector occupies when closed isshown in full lines, and the open position of the parts is indicated indash lines. Since the center of gravity of each pivoted member 10 liesconsiderably to one side of the pivot points 8,. it is apparent thatwhen a strain upon thewires 11 is discontinued, said members willnaturally swing. outward to each side of the stack, and will remain inthis position until they are again swung above the stack by exerting astrain upon the two wires 11. During such. times as the stack is not inuse, the members 10 will be made tooccupy their closed position, andwill be held. in. such position by fastening the lower extremities ofthe two wires 11 in any suitable manner atthe base of the stack. When itis desired to use the stack, it is necessary simply to loosen the lowerends of the wires 11 permitting the members to swing outwardly of theirown weight.

The manner of. fastening our smoke stack protector in place by means ofthe draw band 3 carrying brackets 5' engaging over the. top edge of thestack eliminates any possibility of the device being accidentally subjected to either upward or downward displacement. The members 10 willprefer abl-ybe formed of galvanized sheet metal which cannot becomecorroded.

I When it is desired to bank the. fires of a fu nace having the abovedescribed stack protector mounted upon its stack, it. will be necessarymerely to adjust said protector to its: closed posit-ion to accomplishthe desired results, thus eliminating the detrimental effect of openingthe furnace and smoke box doors and saving the firemen the labor ofbanking the fires in the ordinary manner.

The invention is presented as including all such modifications andchanges as properly come within the scope of the following claims:

What. we claim is:

1.. A smoke stack protector comprising twomembers. pivoted at the top ofa stack adjustable between two limiting positions. one of which saidmembers. form a cone above the stack and in the: other said members lieat opposite sides of the stack,

'when placed under tension serves to raise the member to its closedposition.

2-. In a device of the character described,

the combination with the upper extremity of a stack, of a draw bandmounted fast upon: said extremity, a pair of brackets nae-tintedoppositely upon the draw band and projecting above the stack at theirupperends, a pair of bars having thelr ex- Itremities pivoted atopposite points upon said bracket, said bars being adjustable betweentwo positions which respectively place them parallel above the stack anddivergently at opposite sides of the stack, and a member forming a halfcone. secured to the center portion of each of said bars, the

. weight. of said members tending to shift said bars to positions atopposite sides of the stack, and a mechanism for manually shifting saidbars to. their position above the stack.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination with a smokestack, of a pair of brackets oppositely mounted upon the top portionthereof, a pair of bars having their extremities respectively pivoted atopposite points upon said brackets, said bars being adjustable betweentwo limiting posi-.

tions in one of which they lie parallel above the stack and in the otherdivergently at each side of the stack, a protector member formingsubstantially a half cone secured to the center portion of each of saidbars, an

arm projecting downwardly from one end of each of said bars, and a Wiredepending from each of said arms, the weight of the protector membersserving to deflect the same to their open positions when said wires areslack and a pull upon said wires serving to displace the members totheir closed positions.

4. A smoke stack protector comprising twov members pivoted upon a smokestack at the top thereof, and adjustable between two limitingpositionsin one of which said members form a cone above the stack, andin the other position said members lie at opposite sides of the stack,the two membersbe ing overlapped. in the position first specified, thediametral edge of the under lapped member being formed with a channel.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

ELMERC. FRENCH.

THOMAS E. CRAIG. Witnesses: I Y

J. S. MURRAY,

Jack A. SCHLEY.

addressing the Gommiisioner 0! Patents,

